1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains generally to consumer transaction cards and, more particularly, to the construction of a unitary, self-contained consumer transaction card.
2. Discussion of the Background of the Invention
The use of consumer transaction cards has increased greatly in the past few years. Such transaction cards have been employed as credit cards, debit cards, access control cards to control security by limiting access to designated areas, identification cards, automatic teller machine cards for obtaining money from currency dispensing machines, and the like. An example of such a card is presented in "A Unitary, Self-Contained Card Verification and Validation System and Method", Ser. No. 671,748, filed Nov. 15, 1984 issued on Sept. 30, 1986, as U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,861 and commonly assigned with the present invention. A number of prior art patented approaches are set forth and discussed in that application.
A number of calculators have been recently constructed that are approximately the same size as a credit card, but of greater thickness than a credit card. The K-MART (Model KMC 3) and IMA calculators (Models LC-672 and LC-682) utilize a metal center support having a rectangular frame and internal partitions to support and shield the calculator electronics and a metallized (or metal) rear layer to provide electrostatic shielding. The metal and plastic supports are in addition to the printed circuit card holding the display and electronics. Likewise, the EPSON and Radio Shack (Casio SL-750) calculators have a plastic center support having a rectangular frame and internal partitions for supporting and shielding the electronics with a metallize layer for shielding. The IMA models further use a separate outer frame around the periphery of the calculator.
The present invention improves upon the above approaches and provides a card construction for unitary, self-contained transaction cards of the type disclosed in the above-identified application and may have application to other consumer transaction cards.